Saint Michael S Abbey

A group of Roman Catholic priests and local environmentalists have filed suit to stop the county and developers from building a commercial center next to the priests' abbey. In a suit, the priests said the shopping center would ruin their seclusion and threaten St. Michael's Abbey, which was founded in 1961 by a group of Norbertine priests from Hungary.

A group of Roman Catholic priests and local environmentalists have filed suit to stop the county and developers from building a commercial center next to the priests' abbey. In a suit, the priests said the shopping center would ruin their seclusion and threaten St. Michael's Abbey, which was founded in 1961 by a group of Norbertine priests from Hungary.

The Orange County Planning Commission failed to reach an agreement after three votes Tuesday on how many homes should be allowed in a Trabuco Canyon development planned on a pristine, slide-prone area. The commission's inability to reach an agreement on the number of units surprised opponents of the Saddleback Meadows project, who expected the panel to approve the proposal.

The Orange County Planning Commission failed to reach an agreement after three votes Tuesday on how many homes should be allowed in a Trabuco Canyon development planned on a pristine, slide-prone area. The commission's inability to reach an agreement on the number of units surprised opponents of the Saddleback Meadows project, who expected the panel to approve the proposal.

Preliminary approval from the Orange County Planning Commission for a 299-unit housing development in Trabuco Canyon is expected today, despite warnings from opponents that a monastery will demand the return of a portion of O'Neill Regional Park if the project is sanctioned. The planning agency postponed approval of the proposal earlier this month to give the property owners and representatives of nearby St. Michael's Abbey and Ramakrishna Monastery time to work out a compromise on view issues.

The monks of St. Michael's Abbey lead a cloistered life. Rising early, they gather at 5:45 a.m. to sing Gregorian chants in Latin. Later they eat a modest lunch in silence. And after evening prayers, the white-robed priests observe silence until bedtime. "It's an ancient thing," says Father Vincent Gilmore, the Catholic abbey's spiritual director who, like the other priests there, live under vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

Faced with opposition from more than 50 placard-waving Catholic prep school boys and 10 white-robed priests, a development company Tuesday withdrew its opposition to doing an environmental impact report on its plan to grade 94 acres of pristine land next to a Trabuco Canyon abbey. "We're at a fork in the road in the process," a company spokesman told the Orange County Planning Commission before withdrawing an appeal of the county's determination that a new report is required.

Preliminary approval from the Orange County Planning Commission for a 299-unit housing development in Trabuco Canyon is expected today, despite warnings from opponents that a monastery will demand the return of a portion of O'Neill Regional Park if the project is sanctioned. The planning agency postponed approval of the proposal earlier this month to give the property owners and representatives of nearby St. Michael's Abbey and Ramakrishna Monastery time to work out a compromise on view issues.

Faced with opposition from more than 50 placard-waving Catholic prep school boys and 10 white-robed priests, a development company Tuesday withdrew its opposition to doing an environmental impact report on its plan to grade 94 acres of pristine land next to a Trabuco Canyon abbey. "We're at a fork in the road in the process," a company spokesman told the Orange County Planning Commission before withdrawing an appeal of the county's determination that a new report is required.

The monks of St. Michael's Abbey lead a cloistered life. Rising early, they gather at 5:45 a.m. to sing Gregorian chants in Latin. Later they eat a modest lunch in silence. And after evening prayers, the white-robed priests observe silence until bedtime. "It's an ancient thing," says Father Vincent Gilmore, the Catholic abbey's spiritual director who, like the other priests there, live under vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.